Bills @ Patriots Week One

After a flurry of off-season acquisitions, including wide receiver Terrell Owens and former Arizona middle linebacker Gerald Hayes, the Bills seemed ready to take on the Beasts of the AFC East, the New England Patriots, who were welcoming back future Hall-of-Fame quarterback Tom Brady.
Brady did not seem to miss a step after missing an entire season due to knee injury, as he dissected the Buffalo secondary. His favorite targets were Wes Welker and running back Fred Taylor, who topped off a seventy-yard drive with a ten yard reception for a touchdown. Buffalo’s ensuing possession never got off the ground, and the Bills went three and out. Brady answered with another well-orchestrated scoring drive, dishing to Taylor on a screen pass. A few key blocks and sixty-four yards later, and the game looked to be getting out of hand quickly.
On the next Bills drive, however, Marshawn Lynch showed a welcomed spark of life, as he took a sweep play 56 yards to the endzone. After a Fred Taylor fumble, the Bills were able to put up an additional three points, narrowing the score to 10-14. Rookie Free Safety Jarius Byrd then picked off a pass intended for Welker, bringing the ball inside the Patriot 10 yard line. Lynch was able to clean up from there, and Buffalo found themselves in the lead, 17-14.
After a number of impressive defensive stops by both teams, the Patriots were able to get things rolling once again. Utilizing screen passes and QB rollouts to avoid pressure from Buffalo’s front four, Brady was able to keep the Bills on their heels, once again connecting on a short pass to Taylor that he took the distance, sixty-nine yards for his third receiving touchdown of the game.
Buffalo’s offense continued to struggle against a strong Patriot Defense, led by middle linebacker Jerrod Mayo. Well-timed blitzes kept Marshawn Lynch from breaking free on any more long runs, and put too much pressure on QB Trent Edwards. It was soon apparent that, beyond the first Lynch rush that went for six points, the only reason Buffalo was able to score was the field position provide them by defensive turnovers. Rarely was the Bills offense able to cross midfield, and when they did, their drives sputtered out before they could enter field goal range. Sammy Morris would tack on a receiving touchdown of his own late in the game to seal the deal, and Brady earned a triumphant return as the Pats won 28-17.

MVP: Fred Taylor - 40 yards rushing, 155 receiving, 3 TDs
Rookies: Darius Butler (NE) - Covered receivers well, picked up a sack in his NFL debut
Jarius Byrd (BUF) - Four tackles and the first INT of his career.